Blood is red. It contains something called hemoglobin, which is a protein in the red blood cells. It contains iron. The iron in red blood cells transports oxygen to other parts of the body to all the tissues. Oxygen and iron make the red colour in blood. In an anemic person with iron poor blood the blood is not as intensely red. Blood may appear blue in the veins that can be seen just below the surface of the skin, but that is in part because veins carry less oxygen in them than arteries do. Red blood cells gather oxygen with the iron when it goes to the lungs. The heart pumps the oxygen rich blood out through arteries which contain more oxygen than veins do. It travels through the body and gets back to the heart to get more oxygen again which is circulated out again via the arteries. Nobility or the aristocracy has been referred to as blue bloods. The term has nothing to do with the colour of their blood as everyone’s blood is red whether you are of royal lineage or not. The term blue blood was another way the aristocracy tried to separate themselves from the working class masses. There are plenty of old wives tales about blood being blue under the skin and red when it is exposed in a cut, but blood is red. It can vary according to illness or oxygen level in the intensity of the red colour but because red blood cells contain oxygen and iron the colour of blood is red. Mama Nono

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